The Asheville-Buncombe League of Women Voters hosts a forum tonight, Oct 8, with the candidates for Commission District 2 and House District 115 (6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Black Mountain Library). Follow Reporters David Forbes and Jake Frankel via #avlelect.

Speaking to a crowd of around 20 supporters and staff in her campaign headquarters, Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy announced this morning that she has officially filed the paperwork to run for US Congress.

Longtime conservative activist Mike Fryar plans to run for the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners in 2012. Fryar has been considering a run for several months, raising his public profile by repeatedly criticizing current board members at their meetings and in the media. He was the first citizen to raise concerns about commissioners’ pay earlier this year, noting that, including technology and travel stipends, they were among the highest-paid in the state.

Eight candidates for three open seats on the Asheville City Council make their pitch to the Council of Independent Business Owners today, Sept. 22, starting at noon. Follow live dispatches on Twitter at @avlelect.

The state House of Representatives passed Republican Rep. Tim Moffitt‘s bill to expand the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners from five to seven members and mandate district representation in place of the current at-large elections. The bill would institute this change without a local referendum.